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The execution of Kelly Gissendaner was postponed just hours before it was scheduled to take place on March 2, after correctional officials in Georgia became concerned that the lethal injection chemicals appeared cloudy. "The Department of Corrections immediately consulted with a pharmacist, and in an abundance of caution, Inmate Gissendaner's execution has been postponed," the Department of Corrections said in a statement. Georgia is one of several states that have turned to compounding pharmacies for lethal injection drugs after large pharmaceutical companies blocked the use of their products in executions. A state secrecy law shields the identity of the drug preparer. Gissendaner's lawyers had filed appeals with the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that the lack of transparency could allow the use of drugs that were unreliable. Georgia has not yet announced a new execution date. Gissendaner's execution was previously moved from February 25 to March 2 due to a winter storm.

A new study by the Brennan Center for Justice examined several possible explanations for the dramatic drop in crime in the U.S. in the 1990s and 2000s. Among the theories studied was use of the death penalty, which the report found had no effect on the decline in crime. The authors explained, "Empirically, capital punishment is too infrequent to have a measureable effect on the crime drop. Criminologically, the existence and use of the death penalty may not even create the deterrent effect on potential offenders that lawmakers hoped when enacting such laws." The authors noted criminals do not consider the consequences of their actions, particularly when the consequence is rarely applied, as in the case of the death penalty. "Much psychological and sociological research suggests that many criminal acts are crimes of passion or committed in a heated moment based only on immediate circumstances, and thus potential offenders may not consider or weigh longer-term possibilities of punishment and capture, including the possibility of capital punishment." They concluded, "In line with the past research, the Brennan Center’s empirical analysis finds that there is no evidence that executions had an effect on crime in the 1990s or 2000s." Ultimately, they attributed drop in crime to various social changes and policing tactics, with increased incarceration having no effect in the 2000s and only minimal effect on property crime in the 1990s.

Several state legislatures have recently taken action on bills related to capital punishment. In Arkansas, a bill to abolish the death penalty passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on a voice vote. Bill sponsor Sen. David Burnett, a former prosecutor and judge who both sought and imposed the death penalty, said, "It's no longer a deterrent. It's a punishment that's actually broken. It doesn't work. And it costs a huge amount of money to try and prosecute those cases." Arkansas last carried out an execution in 2005. A similar bill in Montana was approved by a House committee with bipartisan support, but failed on a tied vote (50-50) in the full House. Before the vote, repeal supporter Rep. Mitch Tropila said, “This is an historic moment in the Montana House of Representatives. It has never voted to abolish the death penalty on second reading. This is a momentous moment, and we are on the cusp of history." Montana's last execution took place in 2006. Virginia legislators rejected a bill to shield information related to lethal injection as state secrets. The House of Delegates voted 56-42 against the bill, which would have exempted “all information relating to the execution process,” including the source of execution drugs and the buildings and equipment used for executions, from open records laws. Del. Scott A. Surovell commented, "Anytime somebody in the government wants to restrict information about what the government is going to do, I think we need to ask some really difficult questions and get some straight answers before we grant them that right.”

Cynthia Portaro, whose son, Michael (pictured), was killed in 2011, stood before a Nevada courtroom on February 23 and asked prosecutors to stop seeking the death penalty for the man convicted of her son's murder. Prosecutors agreed to the request and said they would ask the judge to sentence Brandon Hill to life without parole. Portaro said, “I personally didn’t want to see another person die. I got what I wanted — an apology from Brandon. I felt a sense of relief that there is no hatred, animosity, anger.” Joseph Abood, Hill's defense attorney, said, “I’ve never seen anything like it. ... I’m just happy that the healing for everybody can start today. … He’s matured a lot since this killing, and I’m glad he’s finally able to recognize that he made a grave error and to know that he needs to apologize.” In the years since her son's death, Portaro has started a support group to help others through the loss of loved ones. “I just help other families through trauma, give them hope, give them tools, guidance, comfort, love, support, knowing that if they can see me being able to do it, they can do it, too,” Portaro said. “It helps me to help others."

UPDATE: Gissendaner's execution has been rescheduled to Monday, March 2, due to a winter storm forecast to hit Georgia. Previously: On February 25 the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency to Kelly Gissendaner, the only woman on the state's death row. Gissendaner was convicted of orchestrating the murder of her husband, but did not carry out the killing herself. At Gissendaner's clemency hearing, 21 people testified in favor of a reduction in sentence, including two of Gissendaner's children, several prison volunteers, and members of the clergy. Gissendaner's daughter, Kayla, said, "My father’s death was extremely painful for many people, but I’ve recently concluded that in many ways I was the person who was most impacted by his murder. The impact of losing my mother would be devastating. I can’t fathom losing another parent.” The man who committed the murder pleaded guilty in exchange for a life sentence. Gissendaner's attorney advised her not to take the same deal, saying that he thought a jury would not sentence her to death, "because she was a woman and because she did not actually kill Doug." Unless an appeals court halts the execution, Gissendaner will be the first woman executed in Georgia in 70 years.

Mike Farrell, actor and human rights leader, argued in an op-ed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the case of Anthony Apanovitch in Ohio demonstrates several significant problems with the death penalty. Apanovitch was recently granted a new trial, 30 years after he was convicted. Evidence in Apanovitch's case was withheld from his defense, and a DNA test was not performed until decades after the trial. "[W]hen the state seeks the penalty of death -- the one punishment that is irreversible," Farrell wrote, "there is a need for certainty that is at odds with the outrage of the public and the pressure on prosecutors." When a DNA test was eventually performed, it excluded Apanovitch, leading a judge to acquit Apanovitch on one count of rape, dismiss another rape charge against him, remove a specification from the murder charge, and order a new trial on the remaining murder and burglary charges. Farrell, who has been involved in the case for decades, emphasized how the uncertainty of the case effected the victim's family: "For 30 years, the Flynn family has lived with nearly unendurable pain while those in charge of our system have struggled to justify killing Anthony Apanovitch." He concluded, "It is too soon, even after 30 years, to call this case resolved. But it is not too soon to say that the death penalty system is a failure. In fact, it is long past time for us to declare that the death penalty does not serve the interests of society, the interests of victims, or the interests of justice."

In her first press conference since taking office on February 18, Oregon Governor Kate Brown said she will continue the moratorium on executions that former Governor John Kitzhaber imposed in 2011. "There needs to be a broader discussion about fixing the system," Brown said. "Until that discussion, I will be upholding the moratorium imposed by Gov. Kitzhaber." When the former governor announced the moratorium, he also called for a statewide discussion about capital punishment, saying, "I am calling on the legislature to bring potential reforms before the 2013 legislative session and encourage all Oregonians to engage in the long overdue debate that this important issue deserves. I am convinced we can find a better solution that keeps society safe, supports the victims of crime and their families and reflects Oregon values." Oregon has carried out only two executions since 1976, and none since 1997. There are currently 36 people on Oregon's death row.

On February 18, the Montana House Judiciary Committee voted (11-10) to advance HB 370, a bill to replace the death penalty with a maximum sentence of life without parole. The same committee had rejected similar bills several times in recent years. The bill will now move to the full House. Republican bill sponsor Rep. David Moore (pictured) said he thought the bill had a decent chance of passing in the House. Rep. Clayton Fiscus, one of two Republican members of the Judiciary Committee who supported the bill, said, "Our death penalty is a joke." He cited the high cost of capital trials and concerns about executing an innocent person as reasons for supporting abolition. Rep. Bruce Meyers, the other Republican who voted to advance the bill, said he was religiously opposed to capital punishment: “That was part of my conscience, the way I was raised. Native Americans view all life as being sacred.” All 9 Democratic members of the committee also voted in favor of the bill.

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From DPIC

Rodney Reed Execution Stayed

On February 23, 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stayed the execution of Rodney Reed. The court ordered the execution to be stayed pending the outcome of an evaluation of newly discovered evidence that supports Reed's claims of innocence. Bruce Benjet, Reed's defense attorney, issued the following statement, "We’re extremely relieved that the court has stayed Mr. Reed’s execution so there will be proper consideration of the powerful new evidence of his innocence. We are also optimistic that this will give us the opportunity to finally conduct DNA testing that could prove who actually committed the crime.”

Pennsylvania Governor Halts Executions

On February 13, 2015, Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania announced a halt to all executions. He said the moratorium will continue until he has "received and reviewed the forthcoming report of the Pennsylvania Task Force and Advisory Commission on Capital Punishment, established under Senate Resolution 6 of 2011, and there is an opportunity to address all concerns satisfactorily."

Governor Tom Wolf

Pennsylvania has carried out three executions since 1976, all of inmates who waived their appeals. The last person executed was Gary Heidnick in 1999. An execution was scheduled for March 4, but Wolf granted the inmate a reprieve. Pennsylvania's death row is the fifth largest in the U.S., with 188 inmates as of October 1, 2014. State Senator Daylin Leach has introduced a bill to abolish the death penalty in Pennsylvania.

Governor Wolf said, "This moratorium is in no way an expression of sympathy for the guilty on death row, all of whom have been convicted of committing heinous crimes. This decision is based on a flawed system that has been proven to be an endless cycle of court proceedings as well as ineffective, unjust, and expensive. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty, 150 people have been exonerated from death row nationwide, including six men in Pennsylvania." His statement cited DPIC's Innocence List.

The six men exonerated from death row in Pennsylvania are Neil Ferber (1986), Jay Smith (1992), William Nieves (2000), Thoma Kimbell (2002), Nicholas Yarris (2003), and Harold Wilson (2005).

"This unending cycle of death warrants and appeals diverts resources from the judicial system and forces the families and loved ones of victims to relive their tragedies each time a new round of warrants and appeals commences. The only certainty in the current system is that the process will be drawn out, expensive, and painful for all involved."

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"If the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is going to take the irrevocable step of executing a human being, its capital sentencing system must be infallible. Pennsylvania’s system is riddled with flaws, making it error prone, expensive, and anything but infallible."

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"Numerous recent studies have called into question the accuracy, and fundamental fairness of Pennsylvania’s capital sentencing system. These studies suggest that inherent biases affect the makeup of death row. While data is incomplete, there are strong indications that a person is more likely to be charged with a capital offense and sentenced to death if he is poor or of a minority racial group, and particularly where the victim of the crime was Caucasian."

SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW OKLAHOMA'S LETHAL INJECTIONS

UPDATE: (2/17). The Florida Supreme Court (5-2) has granted a stay of execution for Jerry Correll while the U.S. Supreme Court is considering Oklahoma's use of midazolam. Oklahoma and Florida use essentially the same drug protocol. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder called for a stay of all executions while the Oklahoma case is under review.

On Jan. 23, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Glossip v. Gross (No. 14-7955), a case in which inmates facing execution in Oklahoma raised objections to the state's continuing use of drugs that were involved in botched executions in 2014. The case will be argued April 29. Four Justices had voted earlier to grant a stay for Charles Warner, who was originally part of the case that the Supreme Court agreed to hear, but was executed on Jan. 15. Justice Sotomayor, writing for the dissent, said:

"I am deeply troubled by this evidence suggesting that midazolam cannot constitutionally be used as the first drug in a three-drug lethal injection protocol....The questions before us are especially important now, given States’ increasing reliance on new and scientifically untested methods of execution. Petitioners have committed horrific crimes, and should be punished. But the Eighth Amendment guarantees that no one should be subjected to an execution that causes searing, unnecessary pain before death."
(Warner v. Gross,No. 14A761 (Jan. 15, 2015) (Sotomayor, J., dissenting)). See Lethal Injections.

DPIC Podcast Series: We have begun a new set of podcasts on the death penalty in each state, each with interesting historical facts. The following are now available: Michigan, Wisconsin, Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota, Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Vermont, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. Check out our podcasts now! Also listen to DPIC's podcasts on death penalty issues.